Memories and Moments
by InTheNameOfHate
Summary: "And for a long moment I say nothing, becoming the silence that everybody but Jonny expects from me. And I know they can't hear me. Years of snide comments and bold exclamations have proven this so... yet I don't understand it. What I am, physically, is a Plank of wood. Yet I am so much more." A series of one-shots about the kids of Peach Creek. T for language and themes.
1. Neglect, Jawbreakers and Kevin

**Okay, I just really wanted to do a series of One-shots about the kids of Peach Creek. I love a good back story, don't you? They may or may not be related to each other... I'll have to see. I'll take suggestions, if you guys want to suggest an idea. **

**This one is about Kevin and his family life:**

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**Chapter 1**

Parents shouldn't hurt their children.

That has been my one defining rule; the one that stayed with me my whole life, because it is so very important.

How did I end up here, you may ask, on the outskirts of a city, a suburb aptly named Peach Creek?

Simple.

I ran away from home when I was seventeen, pulling my baby brother along with me. I wasn't an adult, but I was wise enough to know I had to get away. Mum had been missing for a week and Dad hadn't even bothered to get up from the couch. Kevin, my five year old brother, was sitting in a pile of his own filth. Mum hadn't been there to lead him to the potty. Five years old and Kevin still had trouble walking.

Sometimes I just wanted to collapse into tears. The final straw was when Kevin staggered to his feet and then fell again, inches from my Father's feet. Kevin burst into tears, and already I knew there would be an awful bruise welling up on his head.

"Shut it, idiot," Dad muttered, nudging Kevin aside with one hideous foot.

"Dad," I said quietly, picking up my brother and hugging him. He quietened. "Dad, Kevin's hurt. Couldn't you at least have helped him up? Or changed him? Has he been wearing soiled clothes since I came home from work?"

"Leave me be, Sophie," Dad growled, his small eyes still fixed on the Television, "If you know what's good for you, eh?"

"Don't talk to me like that, Dad," I snarled, cradling Kevin to my chest, "Where the fuck is Mum? She ought to be home, yeah? Where is she?"

"Don't know, don't fucking care," said Dad, his jaw clenched.

"She's your bloody wife, you should," I quipped.

"She's probably run off," Dad waved a hand through the air, "you know she's a bitch, anyway, what's the big fuss?"

"She is not a bitch," I yelled, taking Dad completely off guard. He stood and turned to face me, fuming.

"Don't talk to me like that, girl," he ordered.

"Why not?" I snarled, "You're a bastard, you know that. You don't do anything for us. When was the last time you went to work? It's your fault I quit school, 'cause I needed money more than education."

Even with all the shit that I had put up with at home, I never expected what came next. A slap across the face, and a kick in the stomach; Kevin fell from my arms and I fell backwards, winded. Kevin started crying again.

Dad dragged him up by his ears, teeth bared.

"Stop it, boy," he thundered, clipping Kevin over the head. Kevin just cried harder.

"Stop it, Dad," I pleaded, and snatched Kevin back into my arms. I was having trouble breathing; I was still winded.

"I'm your Father, Sophie," he said, pointing a finger at me, "I'll get more respect, you 'ear?"

"I don't know if you've ever been told this, but respect needs to be earned." I stormed back through the corridors, only one burning thought in my mind. To my relief, our Father didn't follow us. I placed Kevin down on my bed and pulled out the battered suitcase I hadn't used since I was twelve. It was much too small, definitely, but it would have to do.

I shoved my favourite and best clothes into the suitcase, some of Kevin's. I grabbed my old toiletry bag and filled it to the brim with anything we might need.

"Kevin," I said, "you know your old day care backpack? Can you go pack some books and toys in there? And then choose some new clothes to wear today. You can't wear dirty clothes, can you?"

"What is happening?" he asked and his little voice was like a blessing. I so rarely heard it.

"We're going somewhere else, away from Dad," I assured him.

"To find Mum?"

"I don't think so. Maybe." Anything to get him to agree; I should have done this so long ago. Kevin stumbled off on his unsteady legs, his grubby hands trailing along the cheaply wallpapered walls.

I found my handbag on my desk and collected any important files or papers that I might need. My wallet, my savings and other important memento's; I took them all, cramming them into any spot I could. Several things ended up in the pockets of my jacket.

I changed Kevin and left his clothes on the floor of the laundry, his current bedroom, in a heap. Dad could deal with them. I made my way back into the joined kitchen and living room. Dad was back on the couch, but he kept looking over his shoulder at me as I pulled food from the cupboards.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Packing."

"What? Where are you going?"

"Away," I said simply. There was a long moment of silence as I shut another cupboard.

"Permanently?" Dad asked. I turned, curious. Was that emotion I detected in his voice?

"I don't know, Dad," I sighed, "but I can't stay here. Neither can Kevin. I'm leaving, and if you try and stop me from taking Kevin, I'll just call the cops or something. Child Services wouldn't be impressed with the state of this place, would they?"

Dad shook his head, "No, Soph, take him. Leave. You ain't living right, here, after all. There's a stash of money's in the cupboard above the fridge. Take it and go, yeah?"

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine, you know me," Dad smiled weakly, "always pulling through."

It was so unlike Dad to be selfless, that I obeyed. I found the small curl of fifty dollar notes and left one, because he needed money to pay for take out later.

"You go back to work, Dad," I instructed, "work your life out, because I'm not going to be there to do that anymore."

Perhaps Dad realised the weight of my words, for he looked suddenly kinder than I had seen him for a long time.

"You take care, Soph. Look after Kevin. Be good."

"I will, Dad."

Perhaps the thing I regret most was not giving him one last hug. Even after the seemingly loving goodbye, I couldn't bring myself to go near him. Sometimes, it's just too late for that. Some relationships can't be saved.

I found the cheapest motel I could for a few nights, just to get myself straightened out.

On the outskirts of the city was a small town, known as Peach Creek. That was wear Mum's cousin lived. Olivia, one of the only family members Kevin and I had left. I called her, informed her of my situation, and she invited me over for dinner a few nights later.

I don't think I could have managed without her. She was a little wary of me, but she instantly took pity on Kevin. She told me that she would always be open to babysitting. She was a widow. I think she was lonely.

It must have been through her that Kevin became properly toilet trained. I never did it. I left him at her house when I went to work, which I did a lot, and soon I had rented a small apartment near work. I could walk there, it was quite easy.

I also met Will there. He lived at the apartment across the street, with a few friends. I was giddy with excitement the first time he asked me out on a date.

By the time Kevin was six, he could walk properly and spoke more. He loved receiving attention from Will, Olivia and I, probably because he had received so little of it in the past. He was spoilt rotten, and I loved him with all my heart. I almost cried when he called me Mum for the first time. Will had looked slightly afraid when he was first called Dad. I laughed.

Will and I were looking to buy a larger place together when Olivia became ill. Cancer was spreading through her body quickly.

It was sad that Kevin and I were the only ones by her side when she took her last breath in hospital. Kevin was only six and a half.

To my surprise, Olivia had left us the house, in a little Cul-De-Sak. I cried for hours as I read the letter she left me. Apparently the last few years had been the best of her life, because Kevin and I had been in it. She had been feeling so lonely, and we were like a spark of light in a dark place.

Will, Kevin and I moved into Olivia's old house just months before Kevin started school. A few months later, another family moved into the house across the road, and a boy about Kevin's age. His name was Eddward, I think. To my dismay, Kevin didn't become friends with this boy, but rather a girl called Nazz who lived in the same cul-de-sak.

Will was quickly moving up the ladder at his work. He was twenty three. I was only nineteen.

Kevin was nine and I was just twenty two when Will proposed. Our marriage was quick and quiet. A few friends came, and Nazz and her mother, whom I was very fond of.

I had never been so happy in my life. As the years flew past though, times became tougher. I worked more and more, because bills were expensive. Then, thank god, Will landed himself in a well-paying spot in the Jaw-breaker factory.

Kevin was delighted when he realised that Will could now bring him home Jaw breakers for free. I watched as he ran into the street and immediately started bragging. Kids started turning up and he made a big deal of his "Father's" new job. I wondered if any of them new that Will wasn't really his father. Sometimes he called us Will and Sophie, but that was usually when we were alone together. In front of others, we would just be Mum and Dad. I wondered if he didn't want to seem different from the other children. Either way, I was usually Kevin's Mother.

Somehow, I would feel both happy and sad about that.

I often wondered what had happened to our real Mother. Had she simply run off, bored of her life after seventeen years of raising me? Didn't she miss me at all? Had she thought of us before she died?

Our Mother had had problems, I knew. Health and mental problems had always made it hard for her to cope with a lot of things. We had been going alright though, even when Kevin was born. Till he was three, we were a happy family. Then Mum's sicknesses worsened... bipolar was a bitch. Dad stooped slowly more and more into depression, skipped work constantly and then quit altogether.

He was unpredictable; sometimes fine, and sometimes uncaring. It was like he had bipolar too; except I know he didn't. Mum went into more frequent depressions or highs. The things she told me in one of her moods were not always kind... at sixteen, it was hard to take. I always managed to get by though. Kevin did too... even after we left, we were okay.

I hadn't heard from my Father in seven years, by the time Kevin was twelve and I was nearing twenty-five.

The doorbell rang and I looked up from my studies, which I had been glaring at. I had decided to go back to University and study, hopefully so I could find a more worthwhile career. I really regretted quitting school, but there had seemed no other option at the time. I studied from home, though, finding it easier than travelling all the way to the campus.

I groaned, although secretly I was relieved to leave the work behind, and stretched out before heading for the door. Will was at work that day and Kevin was presumably playing with his friends in the street.

"Hello?" I asked as I opened the door, staring at the man and woman who stood there. The man looked vaguely familiar, but the woman was a complete stranger. They were both wearing good clothes, though and I was immediately under the impression that they were quite wealthy. The sleek black car parked out the front of my house wasn't helping.

"You're Sophie Banks?" the woman asked.

"I was," I said, puzzled, "I'm Sophie Anderson now. I'm married."

"You're married?" asked the man in surprise, and it was his voice that made me recognise him.

"Dad?" I asked, loudly. Kevin and a collection of other kids appeared at the gate.

"Whoa," said one of the kids, a boy named Eddy, "that guy looks loaded."

"What's he doing at **my** house?" asked Kevin, frowning. It was strange how the kids believed that we couldn't even hear them, when in truth, their voices were stunningly loud.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed, my hand clenched on the door. Seven years without contact had done nothing to decrease my bitterness. In fact, it had only made it grow larger.

"Why don't we talk about this inside?" enquired the woman, who I still didn't recognise.

"Shoo," I called to the kids, and they wandered off, looking bored. Kevin stayed put at the fence though.

"Who's that?" he asked, his eyes on me. I shook my head, motioning for him to leave.

"Is that Kevin?" asked Dad, and I gritted my teeth. Kevin looked even more confused.

"Yes," I muttered, "fine, Kevin, come inside." I walked through the door and left it hanging open. The two people walked slowly down the corridor, surveying photographs and Kevin's numerous sporting awards. I wanted to slap them, or push them out of the house. It made me feel naked; unprotected. They were seeing everything that was mine. I had long since bared my soul and life from my Father; yet now he was trampling all over it again. Kevin entered through the back door, grabbing a can of soft drink from the fridge and leaning against the counter.

"Okay," I said loudly, "first things first. Who the Hell are you?" I directed the question at the woman, who looked a little taken aback.

"Sophie," said Dad through gritted teeth, "this is Lorna, my wife."

Lorna smiled at me, but I didn't feel like smiling.

"Okay, that's great," I said with little enthusiasm, "secondly, why are you here?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, that's all," Dad muttered. He was seated on the couch now, Lorna clutching his hand like some pathetic old fashioned house-wife.

"Just out of the blue, seven years after we agreed to stay out of each other's life?"

"Yes," said Dad, his eyes still the same as all those years ago. He looked thinner and healthier, but there were still the same purple shadows under his eyes that had always been there.

"You're Craig," said Kevin, walking to stand beside me. Dad looked at Kevin and nodded.

"I'm your Father," he said. Kevin looked a little disgusted and made a face.

"No," he said, "dude, you're so not my Dad. I just met you."

Craig, my Father, didn't say anything for several long moments, before he turned to me.

"You married?"

"Yeah, to a great guy. His name is Will Anderson."

"What does he do?"

"He works at the Jawbreaker factory... you know the one."

"That's good, good," Dad didn't say it with much conviction. I wondered if he were judging Will. I thought for a moment about asking him what he did know, but then thought better of it. Why did I care?

There was a long moment of silence, and Kevin slurped his soft drink lazily. I wondered what he was thinking in his mind. How he was judging my Father... no, wait, it was Kevin's Father too.

"Sophie," said Lorna, breaking the silence, "I know this is a little sudden," I resisted the temptation to snort, "but we came here to talk about Kevin."

"What about him?"

"Yeah, what about me?" Kevin said.

"Perhaps it's better if Kevin left for a little while?" Lorna suggested. Dad continued to look down at his feet.

"No way," said Kevin, "I'm not going anywhere if I know you're talking about me."

Kevin could be threatening if he wanted, if he felt it was really important to be so; if there was a lot at stake. Sometimes I wondered if I should put him in his place more often. On occasion I had thought he might be a little harsh on a few of the neighbourhood kids... but I knew he was really a decent kid, and what harm could a twelve year old really do?

I didn't contradict Kevin.

Even so, Lorna looked a little unimpressed.

"Alright," she said, "if that's okay with you Sophie?"

I shrugged.

"Well, then," said Lorna, looking to Dad as if on cue. Dad looked up at me and his eyes seemed to be pleading.

"I know I made a lot of mistakes, Sophie, but believe me, after you two left, I made a lot of changes. I made myself a better person. I got a job, and met Lorna a few years ago. I have a proper house now, I own it, not renting. I've done a lot to improve my life and... I guess I just wanted to get in contact, to see how you guys were doing." Dad looked back at his knees. Kevin slurped on his soft drink again.

"And what does that have to do with Kevin?"

"Well, Lorna and I were thinking... we wondered if you wanted us to take Kevin." He said the last bit very fast, but Sophie and Kevin heard every word.

"What?" asked Sophie, eyes wide, "you signed the papers when I filed for custody. End of story. I get Kevin."

"I'm not a prize, dude," said Kevin grumpily, "this is so stupid. I'm gunna go hang with Nazz and Rolf, kay?"

I nodded briskly; glad to get him out of the way. He shouldn't have to listen to these pathetic people bargaining over him.

"Listen," said Lorna, once Kevin had exited through the sliding doors, "this isn't about just you. Think about what an opportunity it would be for Kevin to spend time with his Father? Craig can provide for him very well. He can get a proper education."

"He is getting a proper education," I protested angrily, "much unlike the one my **Father** did provide for me; which was none at all. And as for the Father business? Kevin does have a Dad, and that is Will. Will has always been there for us, unlike **someone**."

Dad looked up, angry. Lorna appeared a little taken aback.

"Have I not just said that I changed?"

"You clearly don't have any common sense," I pointed out, "you show up out of the blue and want Kevin? Take him away from everything he knew and loved? His friends and family?"

"I'm his Father."

"And I'm his sister. I was the one there for him, when you weren't. Did you even bother to find out what happened to Mum? No, you just buggered off to fix your **own** life once Kevin and I were gone from it. Kevin wasn't even toilet trained! I lived half my childhood in a shit hole because you decided one day that working was for suckers!"

"Sophie," Dad pleaded.

"People don't change, Dad."

"Your Mother's dead."

"I know," I said. There was a moment of silence. I had found out what had happened to my Mother. It did take a while of research, but since I was next of kin, I was allowed access to medical files. Mum had been hit by a car, and died hours later in hospital. My biggest misgiving is that she died alone.

"And you know why she left?" asked Dad, staring at his knees again.

"I'd assume it was because of you," I said, although I really had no idea. It could easily have been some stupid perk of Mum's illnesses.

"I'm sorry," said Dad quietly.

"I know," I said, trying desperately to forgive my Father, "but that isn't good enough. You two are not getting Kevin. Please leave, I have quite a bit of studying to do."

Lorna rose, trying to look as dignified as possible. Dad followed suite, although he wasn't as sniffy about it. He didn't meet my eyes.

At the door Lorna turned to me and her eyes swept over me, judging.

"Think about what's best for Kevin, not you," she said icily, and then stalked back to their car. Dad spared me a sad look before following.

I returned back to my studies, but the rest of the afternoon I was restless. I kept spinning Lorna's words over and over in my head. Would Kevin really be better off with Dad and Lorna? I had never really thought about Kevin being anywhere else. I'd always figured that he didn't have anywhere else to be. Besides, we were doing fine. Will and Kevin got along as well as any Father and Son did.

Kevin was perfectly happy...

Right?

I eventually groaned and picked myself off the couch that I'd migrated from my studies to (daytime TV is a weakness of mine) and exited through the back door. Kevin's bike was still leaning against the fence, so he couldn't have gone far. I walked along the back fence and stopped when I heard voices. Nazz and Kevin must have been sitting in the lane on the other side of the fence.

As much as I wanted to talk to Kevin, I was more interested in Eavesdropping.

"Eddy is such a dork," Kevin moaned and I rolled my eyes. Eddy and Kevin were very similar at times, yet the attention seeking trait and need to be in charge they both harboured made them clash horribly.

"Well, I guess he can be," said Nazz thoughtfully, "but the Ed's aren't that bad."

"C'mon Nazz, they're all stupid."

"But Double D is so sweet." Did Nazz have a crush? I grinned.

"Yeah, but he's a dweeb," Kevin growled. I knew all about Kevin's crush on Nazz, for certain. It was maddeningly obvious.

"I'll bet you're just worried about your Dad showing up," said Nazz. I tensed, wondering if I should hear this conversation.

"I guess," said Kevin, and there were a noise as though he were throwing something, "I mean, what's with that? You can't just turn up out of the blue and stuff..."

"Yeah, I know right? What did he want?"

"He wanted custody of me," said Kevin. Nazz gasped.

"What?"

"Yeah," said Kevin, "and then I left. I didn't want to hear anymore."

"You don't honestly think Sophie would let you go, right?"

"Well, maybe..." I felt my heart break into two little pieces, "I mean: I'm still her brother. I mean, she's like my Mum, but what if she just finds me annoying? I still remember Dad, from when I was little, even if only a bit... Nazz, I don't want to live with him."

"Well, tell Sophie. Kev, she loves you just as much as you love her," Nazz assured him. Kevin chuckled a little then sighed.

"This is so soppy. Let's talk about something else, Nazz, before someone hears."

"But, Kev-"

"Nah, leave it, Nazz, I'm fine."

"Well, if you say so," said Nazz uneasily. I quietly moved away from the fence and back towards the house. The sun was setting lazily in the sky, a brilliant bloody orange.

"Kevin," I called, "come and help me with dinner, won't you?"

"Alright, Mum," he called. I walked back inside and didn't look at Kevin as he entered through the sliding door.

"Did he leave?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Well? Am I staying or going?"

"Staying, stupid," I grinned, "as if I'd ever let him have you."

Kevin's face lit up.

"Cool," he said, "I didn't want to go with him, anyway. That woman seemed a bitch."

"Kevin," I berated him, but I secretly agreed.

"Thanks, Sophie," he said, earnestly. I locked eyes with him and my expression turned serious.

"I love you, Kevin, you know that? Son, brother, whatever the heck you are, I'd never give you back to Dad. I'd miss you."

Kevin smiled weakly, but I could tell he was touched.

"I love you too, Soph."

We made dinner, singing along to some of Kevin's favourite songs on the radio. Will was outraged when he found out what Lorna said, assuring me that we were the best thing for Kevin.

It was a week later when there was another knock on the door. I answered it, surprised to see Dad standing there, Lorna-less.

"Dad?" I said warily.

"Sophie," he said, "can I come in?"

"Is that woman here?"

"No," he said. I let him in.

Conversation with Dad was awkward. He didn't seem to want to say much, and neither did I.

Eventually, after much small talk, he apologised. For everything.

He basically spilled everything to me, and by the time he was finished, he was in tears. For being weak, and not being a Father, he was sorry. For neglecting Kevin and I when we really needed him most, he was sorry. For ruining Kevin's childhood and my future, he was sorry. For hurting us, when we really needed to be healed. He was sorry.

I didn't say anything, but I nodded.

At the door, I frowned and turned to him. There was still one thing bugging me.

"Dad," I said, "why did you pick Lorna of all people to marry?"

Dad grinned a little.

"She's a good person most of the time. I think she just really wanted a chance to know Kevin. She's never had a kid, but I know she's always wanted one... She can't physically have any..." he looked a little sad.

"Ever thought about adopting?"

"Maybe," he said, "I guess we'll have to know." This was acknowledgment of defeat; he wasn't getting Kevin. We both knew it without conversing, like it was sitting comfortably, between us, in plain sight.

"Did you really think you would get Kevin?" I leaned against the door frame.

"I don't know," Dad sighed, "I really don't know. I just don't want him to hate me."

"He doesn't **hate** you, Dad," I sighed. "And I don't hate you. Parents don't mean to hurt their kids, I know."

"And I'm so sorry I ever did," said Dad quietly. I nodded and swooped down to give him a hug.

"I know, Dad," I said.

He left, then, without forgiveness, but perhaps with acceptance.

There is only so much that time can heal. Some wounds go too deep.

I'm pregnant now, and Kevin is basically grown up. I know I'd never do anything to hurt my future children. Kevin will be a great uncle... or brother... I don't know which it is.

Dad and I have kept in contact, although not frequently. It's as comfortable as it can get. We try to avoid talking about Lorna as much as possible, yet I heard they were thinking about becoming foster parents. God help any child that has to put up with Lorna's snootiness.

Yesterday I rang Dad. I'd been thinking about it for months, really, but had never had the courage to do so.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad, it's Sophie."

"Oh, hey, how're you doing?"

"Fine, fine... I just wanted to say something."

"Oh?"

"I forgive you."

Parents never mean to hurt their children, even if they somehow do. Real parents don't, anyway.

I was hurt, but now I think I've healed enough to forgive.

I think the forgiveness is sort of healing in itself, really.

I just hope that Kevin will be alright. I wonder if I will ever stop worrying about him...

But then again, I guess that's just the mark of a good parent.

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**Well, I hope you enjoyed that. Kevin isn't one of my favourite characters, but I don't think he's a bad person. He does seem like he has easy going parents, though. I'd assume that Sophie might spoil or indulge him a little.**

**Review and tell me what you think, or if you want to suggest an idea for a one-shot. As I said earlier, they don't have to be related to one another. **

**Thanks,**

**Mimi :)**


	2. Sarah the Monster?

**Well, I'm finally back. It's been a while, and I'm sorry, but I didn't know what too right. Sorry if this seems a little rushed, but I really wanted to get it up here. **

**It's mainly about Sarah and her relationship with Ed. Enjoy XD**

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There are many awful, terrible things in life and most of them are seemingly in-existent as a child. And if they are existent, they are such a simple part of everyday life that they cease to be considered awful or terrible.

Sarah knew there were bad things out there; she wasn't stupid. But sometimes she felt as though the worst thing in the world was herself. She was a monster, at times. She was a monster to the one person who loved her the most.

She had been a brat when she was a child; some would say that she still was. She was spoilt, demanding and quick to anger. She was a suck up, a great friend, and a rotten sister.

Perhaps the first time she realised just how bad she was, was on her twelfth birthday.

"Ed!" she screamed down the stairs and into the basement, the residence of her fifteen year old brother. She heard a loud sigh and the heavy thud of feet as Ed trudged up the stairs.

"Yes, Sarah?"

"Did you eat my cupcake? My special birthday cupcake?"

"No," said Ed, shaking his head, "I didn't."

His eyes weren't focused as usual, giving him that classic dopey look. Sarah hated that look. It made him look so stupid. Why did her brother have to be so stupid? Couldn't she have a smart brother like Double D or Jimmy? Well, Jimmy, at least. Double D might have been smart and cute, but he was also annoying.

"Well, go find it then. It was on the bench." she ordered. Ed nodded miserably and shuffled off to find Sarah's cupcake. He had probably eaten it already, anyway.

"Oh yeah," she added as an afterthought, "Mum wants you to clean my room."

Sarah went back to flipping through the magazine's that were on the table. Soon Jimmy showed up and joined her, and they both giggled at all the bad clothes and gasped in wonder at all the good ones.

Her mood turned sour when her brother's friends turned up. Double D and Eddy were both fourteen, several months younger than the largest of the three, although amazingly more clever. Sarah would consider Eddy more devious than clever, though.

"Where's Ed?" Eddy snarled at Sarah. He was still so ridiculously short, yet didn't seem to realise it. He honestly thought he was superior to Sarah, which really annoyed her.

"Doing my chores," said Sarah, "and it's **my** birthday, so you better leave... NOW!"

"You're not the boss of me," Eddy said, crossing his arms, grinning purely to spite her, "and I'm not leaving." Anger built up inside Sarah. Double D looked apprehensive.

"Get OUT!" Sarah screamed, her face growing rapidly red. Eddy just looked at her.

"Why should I?"

"Sarah!" Ed bounced into the living room, covered in dirt and scratches, carrying a cupcake aloft in his hands. "I found your cupcake! Wilfred had it, the naughty boy!"

"Why aren't you in my room, cleaning?" asked Sarah, snatching the cupcake away from her brother. Ed looked confused and hurt... Why did he always look like that? It wasn't Sarah's fault he was an idiot.

"Okay, baby sister," he said, his frown changing swiftly to a grin. He hurried off.

"Ed!" protested Eddy, following after him, "Wait up!" Double D looked a little concerned.

"Shouldn't you be cleaning your own room, Sarah?" he asked. Normally Sarah would have screamed at anyone who asked her such a pointless question, but Double D sounded so calm and curious, that Sarah would have felt it rude.

"It's my birthday."

"Sarah, your birthday was yesterday," Double D corrected sternly. Sarah scowled.

"I'm younger than Ed. He has to do some work, you know."

"From what I've seen, Ed does **all** the work," said Double D, "he was doing chores back when he was only six. You're double that age, Sarah, yet you've never even lifted a finger. Don't you think you treat poor Ed a little harshly?"

Sarah brushed the comment off, but Double D's words stung. They stayed at the forefront of her mind all day, and nothing she did would clear her head. At first she denied it to herself, but she soon came to realise that everything that Double D had said was true.

She lay in bed that night, rolling over and squashing her face into her pillow, desperately trying to rid herself of the guilt that was hanging over her. Why was she feeling guilty now? Sure, Double D might have had some sort of point there... but really, none of her other friends did chores. Jimmy didn't.

'_Jimmy is spoilt rotten, Sarah, and you know it,'_ said a snarky voice in her head_, 'you often envy the marvellous toys he's given. It makes sense that he wouldn't have to attend to anything. Jimmy's never done a chore in his life, and with the amount of inheritance he'll be earning, I'll bet he'll never have too.'_

She scowled into the darkness, but for once this wasn't a fight she could win by screaming, crying or calling for her Mum. She was questioning herself, and that frustrated her until she fell into a fitful sleep.

She thought everything might be better in the morning. It wasn't. If anything, things got worse. She couldn't bring herself to look at Ed in the morning, and instead left for school as soon as she could. For the next few weeks she tried her best to avoid Ed and his friends, even more so than usual. She couldn't bring herself to look at Ed's sad, hurt face or meet Double D's disappointed gaze. And as per usual, she just didn't want to be near Eddy in general. There was really not one thing about that boy that Sarah liked.

He wasn't even a good friend to Ed!

_He's better than you._

I'm his sister, Sarah tried to persuade herself, it's not meant to work like that. Siblings aren't meant to get along. It **isn't** meant to work like that.

_Is it, though? Look around you, Sarah. Sure, this school is small, but there are many siblings here. They don't treat each other like you treat Ed. Sisters don't loathe their brothers. People like Ed would be loved in another family, don't you think? Sure, he's stupid, but he's kind; and unconditionally forgiving, loyal and loving. What are you, Sarah, but a spoilt, ungracious brat?_

Sarah wasn't one for being paranoid, but as the days flew past, she drew more and more into herself. She bit her tongue whenever she spoke out, and even if she did, afterwards she would analyse the situation from all angles. Her usual interactions with fellow classmates became like navigating through a live mine field. What did that frown mean? What did she really think of that?

Her guilt continued to build up instead of disperse. The usual movies she watched with Jimmy seemed distorted. It was the usual stereotypical nonsense; a hated kid outsmarted the popular kid, who everyone loved, but was actually a snobby, insolent little brat. Everyone eventually came to see the light and the popular kid became the hated one.

Sarah paid close attention to the bratty child. Was that her? Was she the mean, spoilt child that was not really worth liking?

Jimmy noticed her occasional vague-outs as she pondered this and eventually she spilled her doubts to him. He initially told her that she was nice, a great friend, until he realised that that simply wouldn't work.

"Do not fear, Sarah," he said, pulling out a white board and a marker, "for I, Jimmy, have found a solution for this problem." He drew a toilet cubicle on the board, "In girls' bathrooms, it is customary to write ones thoughts and gossip on the inside of the doors, is it not?"

"I guess," agreed Sarah, although she wasn't sure where Jimmy was going with this.

"Well, then, the idea is to trick people into writing their opinions of you. You write something along the lines of _'well, isn't Sarah a meanie-pants?_' and see what people write underneath it."

"That's a brilliant plan, Jimmy," Sarah praised, instantly loving the idea.

"Isn't it?" said Jimmy proudly.

Sometimes Jimmy came up with the best ideas. That, or Sarah had let him watch too many chick flicks.

When Sarah actually got to the cubicle and withdrew a permanent marker, she decided to go for a better approach than "meanie pants" like Jimmy had suggested.

'**Isn't Sarah Rowe such a spoilt brat? I mean, what a bitch, right?'**

It made her stomach twist to write this, but she deemed it necessary.

As the days passed, the number of replies grew and grew. Sarah never contributed to it again, but she always went back to read.

Let's just say that it was a mixed bag. There were a few nice replies, saying that **Sarah is super nice! How could you say that?** But most weren't so supportive.

The harsh words weighed down on her, and it was one Friday that she was walking home, her bag slung over her shoulder, her head drooped. She felt like crying. Really, she did, but she wasn't ten anymore. She could cope. She had to cope.

"Sarah," said a voice, and Double D appeared on the path behind her.

"Hey, Double D," Sarah said quietly, shuffling her feet. She felt annoyed at both herself and at Double D for turning up. She didn't want to talk to him. She was feeling guilty enough as it was.

"Sarah," said Double D again, "are you feeling okay? You've seemed very upset lately."

"I'm okay, thanks, Double D," said Sarah, brushing a strand of orange hair off her face. Double D looked a little crest-fallen.

"Oh, okay," he said, "I was just checking."

"Yeah, thanks, Double D," said Sarah with a sigh. Sarah could hear Eddy and Ed in the distance behind them, but Double D continued to walk by her side. Perhaps he thought she needed the silent comfort, or perhaps he'd had enough of his friends for one day; Sarah wasn't sure which, but it made her feel better, at least.

That night she lay on her bed, glaring moodily at the roof. Why was it so cold in her room? She crossed her arms and scowled. Eventually, feeling restless, she rolled off her bed and stood. The house was silent for once. There was no harsh voice to be heard, as there usually was. It was strange, actually; usually at this time her Mum or Dad would be berating Ed for something Sarah had blamed on him or something he and his stupid friends had done. Or perhaps Ed would be in one of his moods and pretend that he was in one of his stupid comic books, and his voice would boom up from the basement. Or Sarah would take it upon herself to scream at him.

Sarah's house was never silent.

It was scary.

Sarah walked out into the living room and saw that her parents were nowhere to be seen. A note lay on the kitchen counter. They'd gone out, had they? Well, that explained it.

Sarah bit her lip as she slowly descended the steps down to Ed's room. He was there, right? She'd heard him come home, but after that, there had been only silence.

Sarah knocked on his door slowly and then pushed it open. The stench immediately hit her and she let out a gasp.

"Sarah?" asked Ed, looking up from what had been occupying him. He was sitting on his bed, several pieces of paper scattered around him. A pen was in his hand, and by the look of it, he had been writing away furiously. Sarah stepped slowly around the random objects that scattered her brother's bedroom floor and made her way over to his bed.

"Hey Ed," she said, "Mum and Dad went out."

Ed stared at her for a moment, as if he were confused.

"Yes, but what are you doing in my room?" he couldn't work it out himself so he just asked it. "Was I making too much noise?"

"No," said Sarah, "No, Ed, you weren't making any noise." Ed cocked his head to the side.

"And... Is that a problem, Sarah?"

"No, Ed, it is fine... what are you doing?"

Ed was suddenly overcome with a great enthusiasm.

"Oh, I'm writing a story, Sarah. My English teacher said I should, and so I've written one about the brave adventurer King Neglifie and his band of rebel mutant warriors-" Ed continued talking but Sarah didn't take his words in. She just smiled and nodded, pretending she was listening.

It occurred to Sarah that it was much colder down here in the basement rather than upstairs. Did Ed like it here in the basement? Sure, he got his own bathroom, but it sort of scared Sarah at times. When it was dark, there was only the smallest of windows for Ed to look out of. But then, Ed wasn't scared of much, and when he was it was always ridiculous.

Eventually Ed's chattering faded to a halt and he looked inquiringly at his sister.

"That'll be good, Ed," said Sarah, "but there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Ask away, Sarah, ask away," instructed Ed, spinning the pen in his fingers and looking sort of wise for once. Sarah sat down on the edge of Ed's bed and felt tears come to her eyes again. The question that had been eating away at her for the past month finally spilled out.

"Am I a good person, Ed?" Sarah asked. It was Ed's shocked look that caused her to burst into tears.

"Of course, Sarah! You're the best little sister in the whole world!" he looked at her sadly and moved closer to give her a hug, "It is me who is the bad brother."

"No," choked Sarah, moving to look at Ed, "No, Ed, you're a really good brother." And it was true; Ed was a great brother. He was always there. Whenever Sarah was hurt, or being threatened, Ed was there to save her. Even though most of the time she didn't want saving.

He was always there.

Sarah smiled as she hugged her big brother, and she truly realised what it was like to have a brother like Ed. He was stupid, yes, but she loved him for it. And for whatever reason, Ed loved her too.

And although Ed hadn't really answered her question... she felt better.

For that one, shining moment, she did feel like the best little sister ever.

Years later, when she was wiser and had seen more of the world, she truly appreciated Ed. She knew that he'd gotten the short end of the stick in her family. One brief thought she'd had in her childhood always sprung to mind;

_People like Ed would be loved in another family, don't you think?_

Perhaps her subconscious had brought it to mind, or perhaps it was simply irrelevant to the way Ed had usually been treated. Her parents weren't bad people, but neither was Ed. In fact, he was probably one of the best people Sarah had ever known. Even though she didn't see Ed anymore, she often thought back to that moment when she was twelve.

Despite the fact that the world was full of many bad things, she smiled; because she knew she wasn't one of those bad things.

Because, for that one moment, to Ed, she **was** the best sister in the world.

Sometimes, she thought that was the only thing that mattered.

**To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family grief's and joys. We live outside the touch of time. - Clara Ortega**

* * *

**I put a little quote there :) it doesn't exactly relate, but it's a good quote and very sweet.**

**Hopefully you liked this about Sarah. I didn't want to portray her as a bad person exactly, but she isn't the best person in the show either. Also, I always took Ed's relationship with his parents as not the best one. **

**Review and tell me what you think. Again, I'll take suggestions. I'm thinking of doing a one-shot on the Ed's friendship next.**


	3. Two Such Friends

**Well, here's another chapter. Sorry it's been so long, but I've had stuff on. This is a combination of the Ed's friendship and Double D's parents. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Edd didn't have many conversations with his parents. As he grew older he seemed to see them less and less, and grew to depend on them in much the same way; less and less.

About the time of his thirteenth birthday, shortly after he'd discovered the truth about Eddy's brother, he came into a much heavier conversation with his parents than he would have liked.

The worst thing about it was that he'd been completely happy. He'd never been so confident in his friends and life than he was now. Sure, Eddy and Ed weren't as focused on school as he would have liked, but he finally felt like Eddy was maturing. Ed, he had little hope for, but perhaps that was the best thing about Ed. He was so innocent.

Although Double D had met Eddy and Ed's parents many times, they'd only been in the company of his own parents a select few. They were busy, of course, working hard. They communicated through sticky notes, and although Double D did have to keep the house in order, he didn't mind. Cleaning allowed him to clear his head. Besides, he couldn't stand anything filthy. Neither could his parents.

It was late one night and Eddy and Ed were in his room, laughing over something that Double D didn't find even vaguely amusing, but he smiled at anyway. Sleeping bags were piled on the floor, and although Double D didn't think his parents would approve of the last minute sleep over, it was hard to argue with a persistent Eddy.

His eyes widened when he noticed a light outside of his bedroom window and his parents car pulled into the drive way. He was sure they were meant to be away tonight, on an important business meeting. He'd triple checked before even allowing Ed and Eddy into his house. Not that his parents _disliked_ them, but they weren't overly fond of them.

Eddy noticed Double D's sudden freeze.

"What's wrong, Sockhead?" Eddy asked in his usual lazy tone, standing to see better out of the window. His eyes widened a little too, "Isn't that your parents? What're they doing here?"

"I thought you said your parents were on a skiing trip, Double D," said Ed, frowning.

"It was business trip, stupid," said Eddy, rolling his eyes, "but yeah, they aren't meant to be here."

"I'm positive they're not meant to be home," muttered Double D, watching as his parents got out of the car, "I **triple** checked. Oh, I don't think they are going to be pleased."

"Worse than that," said Eddy, "**I **thought we were going to get the house to ourselves. Now we'll have to go to bed early, tucked in with a hot cocoa." Eddy said this sarcastically, and he was clearly making a jab at Edd's family. Double D threw him an annoyed look, but he wasn't really offended. Eddy's feeble attempts at humour were a joke in themselves. He was more concerned about Eddy's behaviour around his parents. Although Eddy could be diplomatic at times, he usually wasn't when he was displeased, which he was evident now. He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked bored yet annoyed at the same time. Eddy looked like that often.

That expression would only come across as rude to his parents, who didn't know Eddy well enough to know that he was simply like that. Ed was another problem altogether, but Double D had always managed to pass off his more insane ventures as Ed being 'not quite right in the head'.

This was of course, not right and offensive, but Ed probably wouldn't care at all, and there was no other way for his parents to understand the miraculous, yet bizarre persona which was Ed.

His parents simply didn't operate that way.

He sighed and smoothed over his shirt and pants to make it appear as though he hadn't been running and scheming all day.

"Eddy, please," he begged of his friend, "behave yourself. You know what my parents are like. I'll be surprised if they even let you two stay." Eddy looked unimpressed but nodded.

"Whatever, Sockhead. Just hurry up and tell them, won't you?"

"Yes," said Double D, opening the door and slipping out into the corridor.

He heard his parents enter the house and chatter quietly in displeased tones. Double D bit his lip and his hands automatically moved up to pull his hat down a little, as he sometimes did when he was anxious.

They were already annoyed about something? This was **just** great.

He jumped down a few stairs at a time, making noise to alert them to his presence. The talking stopped and Edd's parents came into view.

His Mother, Claudia Thompson, was younger in comparison to his Father, Patrick Thompson. There was several years' difference, and although Edd had always wondered about it, he'd never asked. Questions like that would be considered rude in his house-hold.

"Eddward?" asked his Mother, "what's wrong? You look a little nervous."

"I'm fine, Mother," said Double D quietly, "I'm just curious; why are you home tonight? I thought you were both supposed to be attending an important business venture?"

"We were," sighed Claudia, setting down her bag on the kitchen table, "it was cancelled last minute."

"Quite an inconvenience," nodded Patrick, running a hand through his greying hair and smiling weakly, "but I did like what Louis said to Mr Fitzgerald, Claudia, did you hear? Well, after we were told that-"

"Mother? Father?" Interrupted Double D cautiously.

"Eddward, your Father was talking," reprimanded Claudia, frowning at her son. Double D clung onto every ounce of courage he had. He didn't like going against his parents, even in small ways such as this.

"I'm sorry, but this is important." Claudia and Patrick swapped glances.

"Yes?"

"Well, I... ..." he said in one big breath.

"What? Slow down."

"Well, since it's Sunday, and they live down the street anyway, I told Ed and Eddy that they could have a sleepover here tonight. They're currently upstairs."

Claudia and Patrick didn't look impressed to say the least.

"Ed and... Eddy? Your little friends? Eddward, didn't we talk about them? And on a school night, too..."

"Well," said Double D nervously, "you may have mentioned something in passing..."

Indeed, they had mentioned something in passing, but that was how news seemed to be exchanged between Eddward and his parents; in passing. They never sat down and talked about anything. For his parents, there was no time to do so. Sometimes Eddward wondered whether they just had no interest in talking about seemingly trivial matters.

Double D glanced to his right to see Eddy and Ed at the top of the stairs, out of sight of his parents, listening intently. Eddy had his hand over Ed's mouth, possibly to prevent him from blowing his cover. Eddy mouthed something at Double D, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"Eddward, your Mother and I don't know if it's the best idea for you to be hanging around those boys," Patrick said, adjusting his glasses, "they're not very school-orientated, are they? It's probably for the best if you asked them to leave."

Double D felt his heart skip a beat and didn't dare glance to his right. He didn't want to see Eddy's expression.

"But-"

"Don't argue with us, Eddward," Claudia said sternly, "we know the sort of things those two get you into. It's not good, you hear me? They're a bad influence, Eddward and we think you might be able to find better friends."

"Better friends?" said Eddward quietly, his fingers twitching at his sides.

"I'm sorry Sweetie," said Claudia, walking forward to embrace her son, "I know that they've been your friends since we moved here and I hate to break apart something like that... but I think it's time you found some people you can connect to more. Who share your interests? Eddy is hardly interested in anything vaguely academic, is he? And from what I've heard poor Ed can't even hold a sane conversation."

Eddward supposed they were all valid points... but... well, what was he meant to do in a situation like this? He glanced to his side to see that Eddy and Ed had disappeared from the hallway. His bedroom door stood ajar. Eddward turned back to face his parents. His Father was leaning against the wall, looking stern. His Mother was standing before him, gazing down with a sympathetic face. For some reason, it also felt oddly condescending. Eddward gulped again and dug his fingers into the fabric of his shirt.

"I... Oh... Very well, then, Mother," Eddward nodded at her, "Father... I'll, I'll just show them out, shall I?"

"That's a good boy, Eddward," nodded his Mother as she turned to enter the kitchen. Double D avoided his Father's gaze as he hurried back upstairs.

Eddy and Ed were, as he had assumed, sitting in his bedroom. Eddy met him with a sort of curious, yet also accusing look.

"Well? We bein' thrown out, Double D?" he asked, and Eddward sensed a sort of challenge in his voice. Double D cleared his throat awkwardly and felt increasingly guilty.

"I'm sorry gentlemen... But my parents don't wish for you two to stay, tonight... Perhaps another time," Eddward stood beside the open door. Ed complied happily, but Eddy just scowled and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah right," he muttered as he shoved past Double D. If Double D wanted to retaliate, the worry he felt for losing his friends stopped his voice short in his throat. He followed Eddy and Ed down the stairs. His parents watched from a distance, and Double D was sure they could hear every word.

"Your parents suck bologna, Double D," Eddy said loudly, probably to catch their attention. Ed just tutted and pushed Eddy in front of him as they walked towards the front door, bags over their shoulders.

"Well you know what they say, Eddy," said Ed knowledgably, "the apple does not fall far from the tree. And the tree is very, very withered indeed."

"You're crazy, Ed," scoffed Eddy, pushing his friend lightly as they jumped the front steps. Ed chuckled.

But to Double D, that seemed the smartest thing Ed had ever said.

Eddward often lay curled in bed, considering the day behind him and wondering if he was really the best person he could be. Tonight, however, he was considering the sort of person his parents were.

It's normal for a child to be angry at their parents, to curse their existence or hate them; usually for a short while until whatever harsh grounding or lecture that had been given was forgiven. But never do they doubt them. It takes a lot for a child to doubt their own parents. Yet, that's what Double D was doing.

Was his parents wrong for saying that Ed and Eddy were not worthy of being his friends? Sure, Double D knew that he was probably the smarter of his two friends. He was probably the politer of his friends too. He knew he had often doubted his friends, just as he often doubted himself.

Surely, his parents, the ones who raised him and loved him the most, knew what was best for him? Surely?

* * *

The next morning Double D hurried to school earlier than usual. Despite his practically sleepless night tossing and turning, he couldn't come to a complete decision. What was he meant to do at school? He couldn't just stop talking to Ed and Eddy. That would be rude, childish. But was there any other way?

Double D had half expected Eddy to have abandoned him already. He had expected Ed to be unaffected, as always, but he was genuinely surprised when Eddy came and started talking to him as though he hadn't been eavesdropping on Double D's conversation with his parents.

So, Double D resolved to do nothing. He would see how events played out, how his luck fared. Besides, he figured, friendships didn't suddenly end, unless there was some sort of gigantic fight. He wanted to avoid looking like a superficial teenager. He really hated stereotypes. They were never correct. There was always more to people beneath the surface.

Eddy was frowning at Double D over lunch.

"What's up, Sockhead? I mean, you're never usually this quiet. Normally you're trying to lecture Ed to eat his food properly or tie his shoelaces up. Somethin' wrong?"

Double D ignored the jibe about his fondness to correct Ed; although, when it came to it, Ed's trying to drink his mashed potatoes with a straw was annoying him. He pushed the thought aside for the moment.

"Eddy," Double D sighed, "did you completely forget my parents said to me last night? The whole **stop being friends** **with you two** conversation?"

"Oh, that," Eddy laughed, "is that what's worrying you? I thought it was something important. Nah, don't worry, Double D. Your parents will probably forget all about that in a few days. They always forget about things like that."

"No they don't. For your information my parents have a brilliant memory."

"Not when it comes to you, Double D," Eddy said, trying not to grin, "remember that school awards ceremony last year? And the one this year? Parent teacher interview night? That essay you wrote that won second prize in some big competition... they weren't at the prize-giving, were they?"

"And that spelling bee that **I** won," Ed said proudly, "your parents weren't there, either. It was just Eddy and I, my friend."

"See," Eddy grinned, "they'll forget. They always do. Don't worry."

For some reason, this affected Edd more than he would have thought possible. He stood up from the table and walked as fast as he could from the cafeteria. He smashed against the doors and ran out into the corridor. Ed and Eddy's calls followed him, but he managed to outrun them. He didn't know where he was heading until he found the boy's bathroom. Double D ignored whoever might have been standing in the urinals and locked himself in the first empty cubicle.

He sat himself down on the toilet seat lid and shut his eyes. His fingers dug into the fabric of his hat and he pulled it down over his eyes to stop any excess light from breaking the darkness.

Eddy was right. His parents hadn't been to any of those; all the awards that Eddward priding himself for obtaining, well, they had nothing to do with his parents. If anyone was standing in the crowd to congratulate him, it was Eddy and Ed. Occasionally even Ed or Eddy's parents were there, if it was a school assembly. They always smiled kindly and congratulated him. When asked where his parents were, Eddward would always reply;

"Oh, they're working; very busy. Unfortunately they couldn't be here today."

"Well, maybe next time, then."

They were never there the next time either.

This had always bugged Edd. He had never really acknowledged it like this before, though.

He didn't see Eddy and Ed again till class started again. Eddy shot uncharacteristically concerned looks at his friend, but he couldn't talk since it was Maths, and their teacher was unreasonably strict.

After school Double D shrugged off Eddy's questions until he became distracted by something in the form of Sarah. While Sarah and Eddy were yelling themselves hoarse at one another, Double D was truly thankful for such an interesting and distracting neighbourhood.

The next few days passed and Double D didn't see his parents. They didn't mention Ed and Eddy in any sticky notes. He hoped, for the first time in his life, that they had forgotten something about him.

Unfortunately, he wasn't so lucky.

About a week after the original conversation with his parents, Double D was sitting in his room, reading through his biology text book. He had studied it many times before. Now was simply for something interesting to do before bed. He heard his parents' car pull in but didn't bother to go to greet them. He had already made himself dinner and completed whatever chores that had been laid out for him. What he didn't expect was his parents coming to talk to him.

"Eddward," said his Mother, and Double D jumped as he hadn't noticed her open the door of his bedroom. "Come down stairs for a moment, won't you? Your Father wants to talk to you... I do too."

Eddward obeyed, feeling increasingly nervous. He clasped his hands together, hoping that this wasn't about what he thought it was. He entered the kitchen after Claudia, goosebumps rising on his arms. It was cold in the kitchen, despite it being late summer. His Father was sitting at the kitchen bench, and he turned when Edd approached him.

"Oh, Eddward," he greeted, smiling, "how are you?"

"Well, thank you," said Double D, and his throat felt tight.

"That's good," sighed Patrick, "look, Eddward, I was wondering how you were going with your little _friend_ situation. Have you still been hanging out with Eddy and Ed, or have you started to distance yourself a little? I know it's a little difficult when it comes to these things, but it is essential to be successful, I'm afraid."

Eddward gulped, and nodded.

"Yes, erm, I've been **trying** to distance myself from them." This, of course, was a lie. He hadn't at all. He didn't want new friends. He liked Eddy and Ed as they were. His parents wouldn't understand, though.

"That's good," said Patrick, although Eddward worried that he looked a little suspicious.

"Well, that's all then," said Claudia cheerfully, moving to heat herself up some leftover soup. Eddward stood there for another few moments before turning to leave. He hurried up the stairs and slammed the door of his bedroom shut.

The next day was Sunday once again. His parents were up and at work early, so Double D was free to do whatever he liked. He lounged around his house for a while, but he felt too restless to focus on any one task. Double D walked out into the strangely quiet Cul-de-sak and decided he'd try Ed's house. He knocked on the door and finding it was open, let himself in.

Sarah and Jimmy were playing with some of Sarah's dolls, happily. Sarah looked so innocent like this. She glanced up and seemed relieved that it was Eddward rather than Eddy standing there.

"Hiya Double D," she said cheerfully, and Edd determined she was in a good mood, "Ed's in his room. He's in trouble for destroying the lawnmower again. He's grounded, but Mum's out so you can go down, I guess." Double D thanked Sarah. He couldn't remember the last time Sarah had been so helpful. Perhaps it was because Ed was currently grounded and Sarah hadn't seen Eddy or Kevin (or anyone she found annoying) all day.

Double D wrinkled his nose as the smell hit him. He wondered how many years of filth littered the floors of Ed's room. Then he tried desperately to shut that thought off. It made him feel sick.

Ed was sitting cross legged on his bed, absorbed in one of his many horror comics. Double D watched him for a moment, to see if Ed had noticed his arrival. When Ed made no move, Double D cleared his throat.

"Ed?"

"Double D," Ed grinned, "what an unexpected surprise." Double D smiled, as always, amused by his friend.

"Have you seen Eddy today?" Double D asked, navigating his way through the piles of mud and clothes that swamped Ed's bedroom floor. Ed shook his head, dropping the comic he was holding.

"He is as lost as a pickle in a field of mice, Double D. Shall we go search for him?"

"Sure," Double D agreed.

Ed climbed out the only window in his basement bedroom. Double D followed suit, and even for him, it was a tight squeeze. If there was another way he could have left without Sarah detecting them, Double D would have taken it. He was getting too big to climb through small basement windows.

They found Eddy in his room, playing video games on the new console he'd just bought. They joined him, and with his friends now, the day seemed to pass rather quickly for Eddward.

It was late afternoon and the sun was setting in the distance and Double D, Ed and Eddy were sitting on the footpath. Eddy and Ed were seeing who could throw a pebble the furthest along the street. Kevin appeared in the distance, riding his bike around the Cul-de-sak.

Eddy grinned. "New game, Ed. First one to knock Kevin off his bike wins." Despite the fact that Kevin and Eddy might be considered grudging friends now, they still fought quite a lot. Eddy and Ed had awful shots; they weren't getting near enough to Kevin. Slowly, but surely, however, the pebbles were bouncing closer and closer towards the boy on the bike. Double D could see this ending in disaster, but he didn't protest. The mood was currently peaceful, and it was too nice to break.

The mood only lasted for another two minutes, however, when Kevin realised they were aiming the pebbles at him. He scowled and started riding furiously towards them.

"What d'you think you're doing, Dweebs?" he growled, and Eddy looked a little afraid.

"Relax, Kev," he stuttered, "we're just... erm... hit him, Ed!" He yelled, and Ed hurled a rock that was perhaps the size of a small egg. Thankfully, it missed, or else it could have done some serious damage, but the intent was understood. Kevin ran at them, yelling something incomprehensible in his rage. Even though defeat was basically inevitable, the three Ed's still ran. Years of practise of running from Kevin gave them no advantage when he had a bike.

They were almost at the nearest safe location, which happened to be Double D's house, when a car beeped noisily at them. It pulled into Double D's driveway, and the four children watched as Eddward's parents got out. Kevin looked a little wary.

"Later, Dweebs," he muttered, turning and running as fast as he could towards his own house.

Double D felt himself grow nervous as his parents walked towards the remaining three of them. Ed was as clueless as usual, but Eddy was grinning in anticipation. Did he still not understand how grave their situation was? His parents would obviously have realised that he had, dare he say it, **lied** about distancing himself from his two friends!

"Eddward," said Claudia, eyeing Eddy's grin with annoyance, "what are you doing?"

"Ummm..." Double D didn't have an excuse ready.

"We were throwing rocks at Kevin," Ed said happily, grinning like always. If Double D was feeling relaxed enough to face-palm, he just might have. He watched his parent's eyes narrow suspiciously, and even Eddy looked a little uncomfortable beside him.

"What?"

"Ed's just joking. We were just... um... playing a game... with Kevin," said Eddy hesitantly, trying his best to look convincing. Double D nodded nervously, knowing that this would in no way appease his parents. He was right.

"You boys know better than to throw rocks," Claudia said, and Double D wondered how she could be so calm while his Father fumed behind her, "Especially you Eddward."

"But-" Eddward tried to explain that he had nothing to do with the rock throwing.

"No excuses. Go inside this instant. Eddy, Ed, please go home. Eddward won't require your company anymore." Double D felt his throat choke.

"Yeah, okay," said Eddy, before waving off whatever short moment of unease had passed over him, "see you tomorrow Double D."

"Eddy," Double D hissed out of the corner of his mouth, "I'm not meant to see you tomorrow. Remember?"

"Sure you can, sockhead," Eddy said, ignoring the fact that Claudia and Patrick were still standing directly in front of them, "they don't control you."

"Go inside, Eddward," said Patrick, as Claudia shot Eddy a fierce look. Eddward followed his parent inside.

"Come on, Ed," he heard Eddy say behind him, "let's get out of here before Kevin returns."

"If only I had some gravy for every time you said that, Eddy," Ed spouted his usual rubbish.

"Shut up, Ed."

Double D shut the door behind him and his friends were gone. The warm feeling of the setting sun on his back was gone too. He turned to face his parents. It was cold in his home.

"Eddward," said Patrick, "I thought you weren't talking to those boys anymore." Eddward thought it was quite a leap to move from _distancing oneself from someone_ to _not talking to them anymore_. He didn't say anything, though.

"Eddward," Claudia said as sympathetically as she could, "don't you see that we only want the best of you. I'm sure there are better children for you to be friends with... It's for the best."

_They don't control you._

"Mother, please," said Double D, "I don't see how this is for the best at all."

There was silence. Eddward's words had clearly shocked his parents.

"Haven't we already explained, Eddward? These boys are simply not-"

"I know," interrupted Double D, louder than he intended, "I know. I heard you, but I still don't understand. While you have made valid points I still disagree. I don't want to get new friends. I couldn't find better friends anywhere." His parents didn't say anything, so he continued, forgetting himself completely, "and if I may say, neither of you are perfect. Remember that essay competition I came second in? You promised you'd come, yet you didn't. Ed and Eddy were there, though."

"Eddward," said Claudia exasperatedly, "we would have come if we could have. We had to work. You understand how important our work is, Sweetie."

"It was the whole of the country," exclaimed Double D, "I came second out of the whole country and you hardly congratulated me. **I** will choose my own friends. At least grant me that request."

Out of the two of them, Claudia looked more upset than Patrick. Of course, Double D knew his father's temper. He usually needed time to think things over before he could come to accept anything.

"I'm sorry, Eddward, I didn't realise that it upset you so much," his Mother said. Eddward dodged her hug and hurried up the stairs. He shut his bedroom door and slid down it, effectively blocking it from anyone who might try and get in. No one tried to get in.

He cried as silently as he could. He didn't know why he was being so emotional. Perhaps it was because it was the first time in his life he'd stood up to his parents. Perhaps it was because he'd finally realised that his parents weren't as great as he often claimed. Perhaps it was because he was just very tired and stressed out. Double D wasn't exactly sure.

When he had finished, he moved to grab a book he hadn't read in a while. It was one of his favourites. He lay on his bed, and read late into the night. He didn't go down for dinner, even when his Mother called for him. Neither of his parents came up to talk to him.

* * *

Double D was shaken awake. It took him a moment to take in his surroundings. He had clearly fallen asleep, on his bed, in his clothes. As much as the thought horrified him, he was more confused with the current situation. His Mother was standing over him, waiting for him to wake. Light filtered in through the windows. It was morning.

"Am I late for School?" Eddward asked, but a quick glance at his clock told him that it was only seven. He still had quite a bit of time.

"No," said Claudia, moving back for him to sit up, "but I'm leaving for work in a minute, and I want to have a word with you."

Double D prepared himself for the oncoming lecture, digging his clenched hands into the fabric of his bedspread.

"I have been talking to your Father, and we came to the decision that you're right. We can't force you to do anything," Double D blinked in surprise, "and although we still don't really approve of your friends, if you want to remain friends with them, it's your decision. We're sorry, but we didn't realise that it meant so much to you. And I'm also sorry for not being able to come to that award ceremony, Sweetie."

The use of the affectionate word confirmed Eddward's thoughts; she was feeling guilty. For once in his life, Eddward thought she might deserve it.

"Thank you, Mother," he said, "and I guess that's alright. You're forgiven. But you will come next time there's some sort of award, won't you?"

"Of course, Eddward," she said, giving his a peck on the cheek and leaving him with a smile. Eddward sat on his bed for several long minutes before he remembered he had school. He quickly began to get ready. He wasn't sure if his Mother really would come to whatever award ceremony he attended next, but the sentiment meant a lot to him.

Besides, Ed and Eddy would be sure to come, however much Eddy dragged his feet and complained.

He glanced outside his window to see Ed and Eddy waiting patiently out the front for him. They must have shown up just as his Mother left. Eddy noticed him and looked impatient.

"Come on, Sockhead! **You** wouldn't want to be late for school, would you?" He said it in a patronising tone, but he Double D knew he meant no harm by it.

"I want to miss school, Eddy," begged Ed, "Oh please can we go and visit Rolf's animals instead."

"No way, Ed," said Eddy, pushing Ed off him, "I'd rather go be bored to death in school then go near Rolf's place after what you did last night."

Double D didn't even want to bother asking what Ed had done last night, yet Eddy recounted the event anyway, vividly describing everything, from Ed's enormous stupidity to the way Rolf's face had grown red when he saw what Ed had done.

"So," asked Eddy, after finishing his tale, "what did your parents say? Did you get in trouble."

"On the contrary, Eddy," Double D said brightly, "I finally made them see sense. I told them that I couldn't find better friends anywhere."

"Well, thanks, Double D," said Eddy, looking oddly sincere for a moment, "you're not so bad yourself."

"We are indeed the bestest of friends, Double D," grinned Ed, "right, Eddy?"

"Sure Lumpy... Holy cow! It's Rolf! Run for it guys!" Eddy ran frantically in the direction of the school, pulling Double D and Ed behind him.

And as Double D listened to the angry cries of Rolf in the distance _("How dare you disrespect the planting of the seeds, tall-Ed boy! You shame Rolf and Rolf's soon to be growing crops! Get back here Ed-boys!"),_ he felt he couldn't be luckier for having two such wonderful friends.

* * *

**Well, I have a few notes.**

**Firstly, yes it did take me longer than I hoped to get this up. I've been lazy, and also trying to finish my Invader Zim story. I also wrote this, didn't like it (Double D was too OOC) and then rewrote it. Hopefully this is better.**

**It wasn't as good as I hoped, but I really wanted to put something up. Also it's occurred to me that everything I write is sort of angsty or sad in some way. I can't write anything just happy... oh well. This has a happy ending, even though they are running from Rolf (I love how Rolf speaks, it's hilarious)**

**Tell me what you thought, and some suggestions as to who I should write next? I have a few that I've started writing, but I'm still not sure about them. **

**I think that's all. Review and make me smile. Thanks! XD**


	4. The Secret Tree House

**Well, here's another one-shot. Not as impressed with this one, but I really wanted to explore this idea of May and Ed's relationship a little. Yeah...**

**So enjoy:**

* * *

May Kanker, blonde, bucktoothed and widely considered stupid, often thought about her Father.

They all did, all three Kanker sisters, but they didn't talk about them.

That, of course, is a lie. They did talk about them, but it wasn't what one might call beneficial. They bragged and fought over who had the better Father. Usually Lee would win, probably because Marie and May had never met him, so Lee was free to make up whatever she wanted about him and they had no way to prove her wrong. By the same token, Marie should be able to win at times, but she couldn't. All three of them had met Marie's father more often than they would have liked. He was perhaps the worst of all three.

The memory of his visits still made May cringe; Lee growl and Marie hang her head in shame. Of course, when the bi-monthly argument of **who has the best father** came around, Marie would be there, yelling as loud as she could for her own Father.

May did often think, but with her sister's around she had little room to do so. They were so loud, pushy and overall annoying. On a bad day Lee's scowl made her shudder and Marie's voice made her cringe.

There was a place, though, that May visited when everything just became too much. She would run along the forest path until she found the correct tree, and climbed to its peak.

It was a very old, very worn, and very much loved tree-house; although not quite like the tree-house the Kankers had stolen off the Ed's.

This was simply a few wooden planks nailed down to the top branches of a rather large tree. A few bent nails were useful as means of a ladder, and they were rusted brown with age. They blended perfectly with the dark trunk, and the wooden planks were far above, hidden by dense foliage.

It was at this place that May often went to think, to reflect and to be herself in the purest form.

She'd found it by accident a few weeks after they'd first moved in the caravan park, running away from something mean Marie (or was it Lee?) had said to her. She'd run in mindless circles throughout the forest, eventually collapsing against a tree in exhaustion. She soon became aware that something sharp was sticking into her side, and May moved back, her eyes searching. She eventually spotted the trails of orange-brown nails, appearing at random along the thick tree-trunk.

Forgetting the hurtful insult that was still leaving tears in her eyes, May bit down on her lip and began to climb the tree. The nails bit into her skin, and some snapped off altogether. May fell once, twice and then went to climb up for the third time, paying extra close attention to the position of her hands and feet. If this were Nazz, Sarah or perhaps even Double D, they would have turned back long ago. But May was a Kanker, and Kankers didn't give up on what they wanted.

Their effort on the three Ed's proved just that.

May twisted her arms around tree limbs, her worn shoes working to find grip, perching for rests in odd spots. Eventually, though, May reached the end of the nails and found the planks of wood, creaking and aged. May grinned to herself, very happy with what she had found. She pulled herself up onto the rickety platform and looked out over the canopy of tree-tops, watching the sunset in the distance. It was the perfect spot, and it made May's heart sing simply to be there.

The main trunk sat to her left, and to her delight, May found a roomy hollow at her eye level. It had obviously been used for storing items in the past, because soft wood shavings lined its base and thin, spidery letters were carved around the hollow's edges.

_To hide my many secrets, _it read. May sat there a while longer, before remembering herself, and climbing down the trunk again. She ran back through the forest, stumbling out into the caravan park once more. She had planned to tell her sisters her discovery, but when she saw them cooking at the small kitchen stove, the words stuck in her throat.

She never did tell them.

In a world where everything you owned was shared between three, regardless of personal space, it was nice to have something for yourself.

May often visited the tree-house, collecting her favourite books and comics and storing them in the hollow so Lee and Marie couldn't get their hands on them (they would use them for blackmail purposes rather than actually reading them; Marie and Lee didn't like comics and reading).

It was one day in early spring when Marie yelled for her sisters. May and Lee rushed to her side, their mouths splitting into grins when they saw what had caught their sister's attention.

Ed, Double D and Eddy were standing at the mouth of the forest path, partly covered by trees, yet still in clear view of the Kankers. Eddy and Double D were clearly arguing, and Ed seemed to be paying little attention as usual, staring off into space.

"I spy with my little eye," Marie snickered, dropping the laundry she had been folding, "something beginning with M."

"M?" May asked in confusion.

"Mine, stupid," Marie said, stretching like a cat ready to pounce.

"Hey," growled Lee, giving Marie a shove, "you watch yourself missy. You keep your hands off my boyfriend. You stick to your nerdy guy."

"Don't call Double D a nerd," Marie hissed, her eyes flashing, "at least he's not as short as Eddy."

May ignored her sister's arguing over who had the more hunky guy. They had become a lot more protective over their chosen Ed in the past few months. It was strange to May, who did like Ed quite a bit, but not enough to join in their long and constant screaming matches. May was aware that Ed didn't like her, and although this made her sad, she didn't burst into tears as Lee had done one night. Marie had told her that Lee was suffering from "teenagey hormones", and she must have been, because that was the most vulnerable May had ever seen her sister; and all because of some stupid boys. This had hardened May's opinion on Eddy in particular. Lee, the oldest (now nearing fifteen), was not meant to be so stupidly love-struck. Yet, unfortunately, she had grown this way inclined, even more-so than Marie.

It occurred to May just how much could change in as little as two years.

May looked up and realised that the Ed's were running. They had heard both Lee and Marie's shouting, and scattered in opposite directions. May, unsure of what she was doing, ran towards the forest track, the direction Ed had run in.

For some reason, May felt increasingly nervous.

Although the boys must wander this track at least once a week, and would have walked past her hidden tree-house many times, May felt scared.

What if Eddy doubled back and saw it? Even Double D would make her uncomfortable being there. And Ed would probably break the moulding pieces of wood... if he even managed to find it in the first place, which seemed unlikely.

May hurried down the forest track, her feet slapping the gravel extremely loudly. She looked around for any of the Ed's, but the boys seemed to have disappeared.

**They've probably gone home, back to the Cul-de-sak**, a voice told her, **to hide. You know what cowards they are.**

The voice wasn't completely reassuring.

May reached the tree, her breath coming ragged from her mouth. She listened, but no noise came trailing down from the top. May glanced around to check that no one was watching her, like she always did. When she was satisfied, she started the awkward and familiar climb. Even though she was sure no one was there, her throat choked over and she tensed as she made it to the top and peered over the edge of the floor.

She almost gave out a cry, but managed to stop herself. It was perhaps the strangest and oddly cutest things she'd ever seen.

Ed was lying stomach down across the planks of wood, kicking one of his legs up and down absent-mindedly. He had one of May's comic books open before him, and his eyes were staring widely at it, as though he were hypnotized by it. May clambered noisily onto the clumsy wooden platform, and Ed didn't even look up. He had clearly rummaged through the tree hollow and found the comic. It was one of May's favourite, about a warrior named Lenista the great.

"Ed?"

Nothing. No reply. Perhaps Ed **was **hypnotized in the book.

"Ed! E-e-ed!" May repeated, louder this time. With a jolt, Ed dropped the comic and sat up. He stared at May with a mixture of shock and fear. His mouth seemed to be trying to form words, but nothing escaped his lips. It bothered May that he was so terrified.

"Ed, what are you doing up here? This is **my **tree house. And that was **my** comic..." Ed shut his gaping mouth and looked a little confused instead.

"That is your comic?" he asked, as though it was incredibly difficult to comprehend.

"Yes," May nodded, holding the comic out to Ed and displaying the bold letters clearly printed on the inside cover, "see, it has my name on it. It's my favourite comic."

Ed reached out his hand and took the comic from her, staring intently at her name written in black ink. At last, May seemed to hear something click in his head.

"You like Lenista the Great? Have you read Episode twenty-three, dawn of the mutant-zombie-rats from the sewers of Seattle?"

"Yes," May answered, "I liked that one. But I liked Volume forty-two, the day the earth sprung killer drool babies from its inner core. That one was great. It had such a great twist."

Ed's face lit up and he started talking quickly, describing his favourite scenes from his favourite comics. May could hardly keep up with the conversation, but she somehow managed, smiling as wildly as Ed. The two of them sat cross-legged on the tree-platform for quite a long time. Although May found the conversation very interesting, she was even more interested in how easy it was to simply talk to Ed. She wondered perhaps if he was actually absorbing her words, or rather just blurting out what he thought because he finally had an outlet to share the information with. Either way, they were within ten feet of each other and he was still smiling. This had to be some sort of a record.

Eventually, though, May broke out of her happy spell, realising that the sun was setting in the distance. Ed seemed to realise that she was no longer listening and stopped talking, staring at her blankly.

"We should probably go back down to the ground. Your friends and my sisters are probably looking for us... erm... also Ed, this place is a secret. You can't tell anyone about it."

May wasn't sure how Ed would feel about a secret, since he didn't seem to be the most inconspicuous person she had ever met. Still, he seemed to get it. Ed smiled and nodded rapidly.

"Like a secret base for secret spies," he proclaimed happily, and May smiled, but felt like he was two years younger than her rather than almost two years older. May let Ed climb down first, wincing as he made a large amount of noise. She followed soon after, noticing that he'd broken off several branches that she used as foot and arm holds. This would have normally have annoyed her, but May was soon distracted when she reached the bottom.

A yell tore through the woods, followed by high-pitched giggling, no doubt coming from Marie. The yell however, had been unmistakably Double D's terrified scream as he was pursued by May's older sister. If she listened even harder, she may have heard the sounds of Eddy's annoyed yelling in another part of the woods. However, she was more distracted by the fact that Double D and Marie were coming rapidly closer. Before she could even consider the numerous problems this might cause, Marie and Double D ran round the bend and almost slammed into them.

Double D and Marie stopped short, however, by a good three feet, probably because they were just as surprised as May and Ed were.

"Ummm..." said Double D slowly, taking in the fact that Ed and May were standing comfortably beside each other.

"Watch you doin' here May?" Marie asked, eyeing the comic that Ed was still holding. "Ain't that your comic? What's big Ed doing with it?"

"He's reading it," May answered for Ed, as he was once again absorbed in its pages. Double D cleared his throat and edged towards his friend.

"While it's delightful that Ed and May are clearly getting along for once, we really must get going. It's getting late. Mother and Father might be worrying."

"But Double D," Ed whined, distracted now that his chances of continuing to read the comic seemed nil, "I want to finish reading this! I still have to discover who Lenista's real father is! And who is the mysterious figure who continues sending her secret clues?"

"That's nice Ed," Double D said, "but we really ought to be-"

"Ed can borrow it," May said quickly, spitting in her hurry. She blushed and shut her mouth before starting again, "I wasn't reading it anyway."

"Thank you," Double D said quickly, smiling half-heartedly at May before quickly pulling Ed away and running for his life. May turned round to see Marie, a wide smirk on her face.

"Sneaky, sneaky, May," she snickered, "now he has to return it! Him borrowing your stupid comic is basically an excuse for you to see him again, without scaring the heck out of him."

"No it isn't," May protested, but now that the idea was placed before her, it suddenly became appealing. That was a good idea. May just hadn't intended it. She had simply wanted to do something nice to Ed, to make him like her a little more. "But it worked, didn't it? Why don't you be nice to Double D instead of chasing him? I mean..." May faltered at her sister's intense glare. Then she changed the subject, "I wonder where Lee is?"

Marie's anger faded. That was the good thing about Marie; while she could get very angry at times, it was never for long.

"Probably supplying Eddy with some much needed loving. Or forcing him to do chores... maybe we can get the little runt to do our washing!" Marie seemed excited over the prospect, and took off down the forest path towards the sound of Eddy's vicious insults (he wasn't as compliant to Lee's bullying as he had been just a few years beforehand) and Lee's low threats and cackles.

May followed her absent-mindedly, her eyes shining over the prospect of seeing Ed soon, even if it were just as friends... or perhaps acquaintances even... It was a start, wasn't it?

And, as Eddy's loud, grating voice filled the clearing they were entering, and Lee's bushy red hair and deep chuckle became evident, May reflected that once again, the tree house had been a source of optimism, perhaps even more so than usual.

* * *

**Mmyep, so that's that for now. Tell me what you thought, any suggestions in particular. I'm going to try and write something about Eddy next, he's always fun to write about. **

**Also, I reckon that Ed and May could get along very well if they tried, but May loves to follow whatever her sister's are doing (which usually involves terrorizing the Ed's) and Ed is terrified of the Kanker's in general. **

**Review and all that jazz :) and thanks to anyone who has reviewed and favourited so far. It means a lot! XD**


	5. Silent as a Plank of Wood

**Yes, it's been a while, but I am still here. I was simply uninspired. Let it be known that Jonny is my least favourite character in the whole show (although that is always subject to change), yet I had a lot of fun doing this. I almost made myself like him. It's not Jonny's POV, but I think you'll catch on as you read; ENJOY :P**

* * *

I was there from the very beginning.

Well, I envision it as the beginning. I oftentimes wonder if there was anything at all before I came. Can one be the centre of the universe?

Regardless, ever since my beginning, since the first ray of sunlight on tanned skin, I was there. In the Cul-De-Sak, watching the events of the day unfold.

I fell from the back of a truck, I know, because I saw the truck driving away from me. I don't remember being on the truck. It seemed to be piled high with building materials and I later learnt that it was heading towards the new development sight. The development was eventually cancelled and the leftover materials were abandoned there. It seemed that no one wanted to move to Peach Creek.

I remember the bright blue sky, the fluffy clouds. The hot summer air beat down on me like some invisible force and I watched as the hours slowly ticked by. Eventually the heat let up as the sun slowly sank and I was found by something I had never seen before.

Two big eyes and a lopsided smile; the lopsided smile that you find on the simplest of children, before time changes them. And, oh, how time changed this one. I discovered this all later, of course. For now, I simply watched, bemused, as the somebody picked me up and stared at me, as though she had found something brilliant.

"What about this, Ed?" the somebody called out, grinning as she ran towards another of her kind. The other that she ran too, the one named Ed, appeared quite different, though. Unlike the first child, he was a little taller and still wearing a diaper.

"That's great, Nazz," he said happily, reaching out his hand for me. Before he reached all the way, though, another boy appeared at his side, a foul look on his face.

"Ed? What are you doin' here?" He demanded, and his voice was one of the most hideous things I had ever heard.

"Eddy! Nazz and I were gunna play circus and balance this piece of wood on our noses. See, Nazz even has the sparkles!" Ed held up the small bottle of pink sparkly liquid, beaming. Eddy wrinkled his nose.

"That's nail polish, Ed, for **girls**. Besides, you can't play with Nazz, she's a girl, and you'll get cooties!"

"What's cooties, Eddy?" asked Ed, following his shorter friend away absent-mindedly. I watched as Nazz frowned a little, pursing her lips and pulling at her blonde pigtails. She looked as though she might cry for a moment, before a shout from another child caught her attention. She turned and the sad expression vanished.

"Coming Kevin!" she said, running away. I was alone again, left to ponder the strange creatures that I had just witnessed.

**For the most part, these beings seem to be of low intelligence. Surely there must be someone who rules over them?**

I watched the night pass over me and the day started again. Today the air was thick, hot and suffocating. Clouds circled in the distance, but the sun still shone down on the street. The children were outside to play again and I waited patiently for something interesting to happen.

Nothing interesting happened until about mid-afternoon. A boy tripped over me, falling flat onto his face.

"What the hell?" he muttered, rubbing at his head and scowling.

"Don't say that Kevin," Nazz ordered, her pigtails bouncing, "My Mum says it's a bad word."

"Sorry," murmured Kevin ungratefully, glowering down at me.

**I don't like this boy**.

"Hey, it's still here," said Nazz, staring at me, "it's the piece of wood that Ed found yesterday."

"What's so good about wood?"

**I really don't like this boy.**

"We were going to play circus. Ed was going to be the clown, and I was going to be the ballerina."

"Ed's stupid," frowning at me, as though he had forgotten I was there.

"He's funny," Nazz said, as though that made up for it. Kevin scowled again, before getting distracted by something in the distance. Something I couldn't see. The two children ran off, not sparing me a backwards glance.

**Atrocious manners, **I thought, **I wonder if they would hear me if I talked like them? Perhaps it would be interesting to have a conversation, even if their range of topics seems to be limited to a circus. What is a circus, anyway?**

I yelled after the children, their names like a chant. They didn't come back and I wasn't sure if they couldn't hear me or if they were just very rude. Eventually I just called out for help. I didn't want to lie another night on the sidewalk, and the clouds drawing ever nearer made it seem as though it would soon rain. Although I didn't know much then, I had the inexplicable feeling that rain was bad for me.

"Jonny! You messed up my dollies!" screamed a small girl's voice in the distance, followed by a loud thumping noise. "Go away!" This was followed by some sniffles and the slow shuffling of feet against the concrete sidewalk.

The next thing I knew, another face was peering down at me. He didn't look too happy, simply curious, as though he had forgotten all about the bruise that some other child had left on his cheek. His eyes seemed to be lit up with a certain curiosity I had never encountered before. This boy couldn't see how the world worked, couldn't understand how people's minds ticked, but he longed to know. This boy hungered for information, just as I did.

"Hello," he said to me, and I was surprised once more.

**Hello,** I replied, **can you hear me?**

He stared for a long moment, before nodding. "Yes," He said, "I can hear you. I'm Jonny, what's your name?"

**A name? I do not believe I have a title as of yet. Well, not one that I can remember.**

"You don't have a name?" asked Jonny, eyes widening, "that's terrible! I have to find you one at once!"

And with that, I was picked up by Jonny, and carried into his house.

When I was placed down, I was instructed to wait a moment. When Jonny left, I was glad to see that I had the full view of Jonny's room from the perch on his bed. It was sparsely furnished, and from being pulled up here in a little basket on a string, I knew I was in the attic. Several plants hung from the ceiling, and a few more sat in pots on the floor.

**Odd for a bedroom, **I mused, **but then, I guess that I have no idea what a bedroom is meant to look like. Perhaps this is considered normal. **I later discovered that it wasn't.

Jonny soon returned with a handful of crayons in his small palms. He stuck his tongue between his teeth and frowned, looking as though he was trying incredibly hard to focus. With an unsteady hand, Jonny drew (as I later saw them in a mirror) a crude pair of eyes and smiling mouth. I don't know what purpose they served, but from then on, I was no longer a piece of wood in the children's eyes; I was a piece of wood with a face.

Apparently, to them, there's a big difference.

**So, what now?**

"I don't know," Jonny said, throwing the crayons to the floor, "I still don't know what to call you."

**Something that screams superiority?** I suggested, but it went unnoticed. Jonny rocked back and forth on his heels for a moment.

"How about Bob?"

**No. Not Bob, that sounds simple.**

"Well, then," Jonny stuck out his bottom lip, thinking, and "how about Woody?"

**No, not that... if it has to be wood-related, at least make it less obvious.**

Jonny thought for another moment before smiling, "How 'bout Plank?"

**Plank... Well, as good as any I suppose. It doesn't exactly radiate importance, but I suppose no name does when one does not know to whom it belongs.**

Jonny stared at me vaguely for a moment, before smiling in a strange sort of way.

"You're a real laugh, Plank, you know that?"

**Really? Well, I suppose that's nice...**

"You and I are going to be great buds, I can already tell," exclaimed Jonny, jumping onto the bed and sitting cross-legged.

**Yes, I'm sure, **I said, and to my surprise, being _buds_with Jonny didn't seem as bad as I would have thought.

* * *

I soon became used to Jonny's odd timetable.

At nine o'clock each morning he would be forced to go outside and play by his Mother and the door would not open again until dinner time. Lunch was something he was expected to find by himself. Usually Jonny would just slip an apple into his pocket and eat it later for lunch. Sometimes he would forget and I would have to remind him. Sometimes even I would forget and he would go looking for berries and eat them at lunch time. The berries gave him a bad rash on his stomach.

Jonny spent his days doing much the same thing, trampling through the surrounding forest area for anything interesting he could find; bird eggs, squirrels, turtles in the creek, acorns and wildflowers. On the days where he didn't do this, he would attempt to talk to the other children.

Although there were several things that Jonny didn't pick up about people, I know I did.

Eddy and Ed, the two boys with the same name and completely different temperaments. I realized soon that Eddy was not a particularly nice boy. He was a cheater, sly and oftentimes manipulative. Yet there was also the other side to him; the annoying, attention-seeking side that I would experience more as he got older.

Ed was something of a mystery to me. Always happy, always smiling; he reminded me of Jonny in a lot of ways, and for some reason that drove me to like him. He was stupid, clearly, but his imagination far outweighed his academic limits. Yet he followed Eddy like a puppy and I was quite sure that that would be his downfall.

There was Rolf, the strange foreign boy that no one could understand. Despite this, he didn't seem to mind Jonny as much as the others. Rolf's eyes seemed to sweep over everybody and accept them as they were, including me.

In the way that Ed blindly followed Eddy, Jimmy followed Sarah. Cruel, irritating, spoilt Sarah, who was a year younger than Jonny, yet acted as though she was queen of all. Jimmy was spineless, wimpy and Sarah was his protection. Jonny seemed to spend more time with them than anyone else, probably because of the age similarities. Sarah was tolerable at the best of times, and the way she often rolled her eyes at Jonny's stories made my blood boil over. Well, it would if I had any blood.

Kevin and Nazz were different again, and seemed to stick to the labels I'd put over their heads when I'd first met them, bad-mouthed and foul-tempered, and blonde and ditzy. For all her stupidity, though, Nazz was kind.

When Double-D arrived, I hoped that he would become friends with Jonny. It took me only seconds to realise that he would never be happy talking to Jonny. His paranoid behaviour, in conjunction with his proper way of speaking brought me to the conclusion that he was not at all interested in stomping through muddy puddles on rainy days. To my surprise, he chose to become friends with Ed and Eddy. How that friendship works is still a mystery to me.

The children didn't react kindly to me at first. Kevin snorted, Nazz appeared sceptical and Eddy's eyes lit up because he figured he had another person to scam. Although I was no longer a plank of wood in the children's eyes, I was still an inanimate object; only an imaginary friend and nothing more. Eventually, though, after watching Jonny having conversations with me, they seemed to accept things as they were. I knew they would never truly believe that I was alive. Perhaps Sarah and Jimmy, who approved of all things imaginary, would laugh and acknowledge me a few times. Double-D, when he arrived, would smile weakly when Jonny introduced him, because he knew better than to protest to something like that. Ed would appear to hold conversations with me, but in all honesty he was simply spewing nonsense from his ridiculous shambles of a mind.

I was never truly a person in anyone's eyes.

Except for Jonny's. To him, I was his best friend. The thing he'd always been wishing for.

Constantly by Jonny's side, I was able to observe life as it was for these people. The things that Jonny couldn't explain to me were easily accessible via television or a book from the local library. It soon became our usual habit to spend our night's side-by-side on Jonny's bedroom floor. Jonny would draw pictures and I would read book after book. Knowledge never satisfied me, because I was searching for an answer to a question that was unanswerable.

"What are you thinking about, Plank?" Jonny asks suddenly. I suppose, then, that brings us to this moment. This moment, on Jonny's roof, watching the stars. I suppose it's a mark of how _capable_ Jonny's parents are that he's on the roof at the age of only eleven. They probably aren't even home yet. I wonder if they will show up at all in the next few days. They were probably so drugged up that they couldn't find their way home from whatever hippie rally they were protesting at. Well, I suppose that's just my thoughts... I don't really know if they're at a hippie rally. They are on several drugs though, I know that for sure. I've seen the results, and normally I have to keep Jonny from doing so. The park is a lot more interesting, Jonny, I'd say. He'd agree. He almost always agrees with me.

**I'm just thinking about us, Jonny**, I say, taking in the stars so high above us. Like silent guardians.

"What about us?"

**Just about how we met. I was simply reflecting on that.**

There is another moment of silence as Jonny searches for a constellation that he rather likes. Orion. That is what it is called. I can never find shapes in the stars. My mind doesn't work like that.

"Do you reckon those stars have voices, Plank? Like you do?"

**Everything has a voice, Jonny, **I say, as I know he wants me too, **you simply have to listen.**

Jonny strains his ears, frowning in concentration.

"I still don't hear anything, Plank," he complains, slumping back against the warm tiling. It is a warm night, after all.

**Well, they are usually silent**, I say, trying not to upset him. I hate it when Jonny is upset, especially over something so ridiculous. **Silent guardians, you know. They watch over us, protect us... **

"How can they protect us when they're so far away?" Jonny asks, "And silent? To protect someone, you need to be with them all the time, and talk to them. Tell them that it'll be okay. Like Mum used too. Like you do now."

Like I do? Really? Well, that's interesting. I know I've thought about it like that before, but I didn't realise Jonny had. I know that yet again I have underestimated his intelligence. Jonny is not a stupid child.

"Does that mean that you're like a star, then?" Jonny asks suddenly, turning to look at me.

**No... I'm hardly silent, am I?**

"To the others you are. Eddy says that he can't hear you and that you can't really talk."

And for a long moment I say nothing, becoming the silence that everybody but Jonny expects from me. And I know they can't hear me. Years of snide comments and bold exclamations have proven this so... yet I don't understand it. What I am, physically, is a Plank of wood. Yet I am so much more. A friend, a voice, a teacher. An imagination embodied, thought and freedom and love. There are so many ideas inside my mind, yet I have no need of a head.

It is scary to not know what you are.

Sometimes I'm not so sure that I'm real. Perhaps I simply am some bizarre manifestation of Jonny's mind, only here to reassure him that amidst all of the world's trouble, he is not alone. Like a person with Multiple Personality Disorder might elect a personality to act as a guardian of sorts.

And here we are again, back in a circle. A silent Guardian, though?

**I can talk Jonny, don't you worry,** I say at last,** you can hear me, can't you? Besides, what does Eddy know? Less than a toothpick! Watch the stars, Jonny, it'll all be okay.**

I wonder if Jonny can hear the lie in my voice... in his voice, since no one else can hear it. Is that what we are, two independent parts of one being? But, then, that's ridiculous... isn't it?

Jonny smiles calmly and settles back down to watch the stars once again, his eyes glowing with wonder. So many years and he is still as curious as the day I met him.

I know that however uncertain I may be in myself, Jonny will always be certain in me. Whatever I am, whether it is a miracle, a plank of wood, a demonic presence (after all, who knows? It's possible) or some extension of Jonny himself, I will always be there for him; to watch over him and to guide him.

A Silent Guardian.

Silent, only because most do not bother to truly listen.

* * *

**Well guys, review and all that! Thank you to everybody who has reviewed and favourited so far. As I said before, I actually enjoyed writing Plank's POV. Also, to clarify, I really love the idea of Ed and Nazz playing together as children, doesn't that just seem adorable? Because Ed would definitely put on nail polish if he thought it would help him become a clown. And Eddy was the one to introduce him to the idea of cooties, which his brother probably told him about. Also, I love all of the characters, don't believe what Plank says about them (as much truth as there may be in what he thinks). **

**Yeah, rant over now. :D Review and I'll try and write something else quicker this time.**


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